Betrayal
by Bookman230
Summary: Rikka may be back to normal(so to speak), healthier and happier than ever before, but there are still unresolved feelings. Sanae Dekomori muses on her place.


There is a difference between a friend and a servant, and a servant must know her place. A friend is a partner, a confidant. It is a two way street; secrets relayed between the two of them. When one threatens to cut the friendship off, the other fights to keep it alive. That is their duty, their role. There lies the Dark Flame Master, though "friend" is an understatement at this stage.

A servant can pretend that their master cares about them for a little while. They can be allowed their fancies. But eventually, they must be awakened by reality, as it is their duty to protect their masters from it. And when you look at the relationship between two friends, and between a master and her servant, there is no comparison.

A friend is a prized possession. They are meaningful, and are meant to be treasured. A servant is _just _a possession. There to amuse, and meant to be thrown away when master doesn't care for her- _them _anymore, and if or when a master wants that servant back, they are meant to crawl back, grateful and acting as if nothing had ever happened.

Because nothing did, really. To think of what had happened to be a betrayal was stupid. The servant was not a friend; secrets went one way, master to servant, and never the other way around. That oath of loyalty and companionship was just a mere formality, and as the master of course she had the right to go back on it. To think of it as something more was just... deathly, deathly stupid.

Just like the servant. It is her role to smile and be plucky and stupid and never let her true emotions show, least of all to her master. That would be overstepping her bounds. It was bad enough she had let them show to the Dark Flame Master and her rival, Fake Mori Summer. If nothing else, it was a lesson.

All of it had been a lesson. In the master servant relationship, there was one aspect in which it could go both ways. The betrayal. Inevitably, the servant must prove herself to have surpassed her master; then she is a true warrior, worthy of respect. Worthy of being valued, of being talked with, of being someone's friend. She had let her emotions cloud her for too long. Her deathly vapid fantasies of being a friend had held her back. Perhaps master had planned on that, fostered those feelings so as to weaken her. Master was so very, very clever. She had always been able to see master's greatness, when nobody else would. Not that it mattered. She was just a servant, her opinions meant nothing. But she would become great. She'd become a master herself.

Then master would finally appreciate her. Then they'd be equals, friends, partners, if she so willed. Maybe she would just cast away her master, make _her _feel that pain of abandonment. Then it would be _her_ who wanted to be friends, who wanted someone to talk to her. She'd follow her master's greatest lesson. Let her think nothing is wrong, that her servant is still ever so faithful, then, when she is at her weakest, when she least expects it, challenge her. Then she would crush-

* * *

"Sanae Dekomori?"

Sanae jumped, broken out of her thoughts, and looked at Rikka. "Yes, master?"

"Are you alright? You seem... upset."

"Eh?" she questioned loudly, as if the notion that she could feel anything besides duty and pluckiness and the will to fight was unfathomable. "You are back, master, and I'm once again at your side! Any reason I have for being upset would be deathly stupid!" she let out a hearty laugh. "Why do you ask, master?"

"It is my duty as a master and mentor to notice and tend to the feelings of my follower."

Lies. Not even good ones either. Sanae forced herself to keep smiling. "Well, I am just fine, master. Perhaps we ought to go and meet the others? They must be waiting." She turned away from Rikka and began to make way to the club room, but was stopped by Rikka grabbing her hand.

"Please. Stop. They can wait. It's been too long since it was just the two of us. And we.. need to talk."

Sanae looked at her master quizzically. "What about, master?" Inside, her heart was beating fast with the possibilities, no matter how much she tried to quell them. Did her master care? Was she going to admit her fault? Her master's uncovered eye stared deep into hers.

"About... I..." Ultimately, Rikka faltered, averting her gaze and letting go of Sanae's hand. "I suppose if everything's ok with you, there's no point to it. It's... nothing."

Sanae buried the anger and disappointment within herself. "As you say, master."

It wasn't master's fault. She just wasn't good with the emotional stuff. She had made the effort, hadn't she? That was good enough, right?

...No. It wasn't. Rikka didn't have problems sharing with the Dark Flame Master. Because he was her equal. Because she respected him, and deemed him worthy of her thoughts. Unless she forced her master to see her as someone on her level, this was how things would stay. There was no other choice.

"Sanae Dekomori?" Rikka's voice was softer now.

"...Sorry, master. Let's go meet with the others, eh?"

"I-Yes. They have waited long enough."

Soon. Soon she would be worthy.


End file.
